ESSA merges two offices into new one in Middle Smithfield

It was a bustling opening day Tuesday when two East Stroudsburg Savings Association (ESSA) Bank & Trust branches consolidated into a new ESSA branch at a prime location on Route 209 in Middle Smithfield Township near Sellersville Road.

It was a bustling opening day Tuesday when two East Stroudsburg Savings Association (ESSA) Bank & Trust branches consolidated into a new ESSA branch at a prime location on Route 209 in Middle Smithfield Township near Sellersville Road.

"We had the opportunity to acquire real estate, to own the building instead of renting," said Cathy Callahan, vice president, Branch Administration for ESSA. "It's a great location and a beautiful facility."

The new branch replaces First National Community Bank, which closed its two locations in Monroe County, the other in Stroudsburg. ESSA acquired the deposit and loan accounts of former FNCB customers.

Those FNBC Stroudsburg branch customers' accounts were transferred over to ESSA's Stroudsburg branch on Main Street.

ESSA's two former branches were both rented buildings, one next to Alaska Pete's in Marshalls Creek that is closed, and the other near the entrance to Lake of the Pines in Bushkill. The Bushkill branch will have limited hours until Feb. 8 only for former FNCB customers to access contents of safe deposit boxes. The Bushkill ATM will also be functional until Feb. 8 as well. All transactions, including deposits and opening new accounts, will be directed to the new facility.

All branch employees were relocated from one of the now shuttered ESSA branches.

ESSA will continue to have some communication with FNCB for a window of about 90 days, while FNCB processes remaining checks through its system, said Callahan.

The new branch's opening day was busier than expected, with an overflow parking lot and some customers having to park in and walk from the adjacent CVS.

"It was busy," Callahan said. "A lot of customers from the FNCB side wanted to make sure their money made it over, I guess, and Bushkill customers that wanted to see the new branch."

Opening day had some glitches that required calling vendors and an IT team for slow-running computers, all of which led to the maxed-out parking lot.

"If we were to rate the conversion on a scale of 1 to 10, with ease, this was a 10," said Callahan, along with Gail Bryant, senior vice president, Retail Division. Most FNCB customers have already received new debit cards. "A bunch of different vendors were there to reset, reprogram and upgrade, and we had to swap out (FNCB's) ATM because it wasn't compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The PCs (personal computers) were a challenge, but the system was operational. There was an issue with the time/temperature (digital) sign (outside). But overall everybody made a good conversion."

Branch manager Ellen Sibilia was greeting new customers but declined to comment, referring all press inquiries to corporate headquarters.

FNBC customers were notified of the changes in August. The terms and rates of all FNCB-originated loans and certificates of deposit remain unchanged under ESSA. Savings and checking accounts have been absorbed into the ESSA deposits structure.

One Marshalls Creek resident, a former FNBC customer who was at the new branch Monday, expressed disappointment that ESSA couldn't match the checking account terms she had previously enjoyed, saying she now has to pay fees for services she feels she won't use.

"We tried to match as best we could what (FNCB) had, to our product and will share options to put customers in the best product that fits their needs," Callahan said while explaining that FNBC's checking account was not an exact match with any of ESSA's.

ESSA has 26 branches in Monroe County and the Lehigh Valley. After the addition of a new branch and the consolidation of two existing branches, ESSA will have 25 retail outlets. The company anticipates the new branch will have combined deposits totaling more than $40 million.